The owner of a crab factory has vowed to rid the area of a stench that is apparently caused by drainage from his factory flowing into an open ditch.
The crab factory, located on Old Highway 90 in Des Allemands next to St. Gertrude The Great Catholic Church, belongs to Bobby DeJean and has served as a processing and crab boiling plant since 2009. A previous facility run by DeJean on the site only served as a crab picking plant until it burnt down in 2007.
DeJean said after the drainage from his plant is diverted into St. Gertrude’s sewage system, the smell should go away.
“It is going to be taken care of for sure,” he said. “I am working right now with the water board and the parish. As a matter of fact they are here right now. I got permission from the church and we will have everything rerouted.”
Some Des Allemands residents said the stinky smell has plagued the area ever since DeJean rebuilt and expanded operations at his crab factory.
According to Rick and Teresa Johnson, who live behind the crab factory and right next to the ditch, the odor has resulted in some longtime residents emptying out of the neighborhood.
T. Johnson said that some days the smell is so bad that her family cannot even go outside.
“It is horrible and smells just like that crab factory,” she said.
Public Works Director Sam Scholle said the water in the ditch is septic and is a definite health issue that needs to be addressed.
Councilman Paul Hogan said he thinks DeJean is taking the right steps to remedy the situation.
“(DeJean) always has a little trickle coming out of there and that little trickle is what is creating the bulk of this situation. He is going to connect a small little line to the church’s sewer system,” Hogan said.
Hogan said he does not know if the diverted pipe will fix the problem, but anything is worth trying.
“If they are willing to do that, I am willing to give it a shot. As long as the stink goes away (the residents) don’t care about how it happened,” he said.
However, Hogan said if the bad odor persists he will continue to work on a long-term solution.
Hogan has been working to cover the ditch for more than a year and was successful in having money set aside for the project in this year’s budget.
Since that time he has been in conflict with Parish President V.J. St. Pierre’s administration, who says the estimated cost to cover the ditch was too low and there are not enough funds to go through with construction.
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